PLATEAU OF THE PAGANS 399 



in this region, taking a large toll from the black popu- 

 lation every year. The natives will not even place 

 their hands in the water, only bathing in the very 

 shallow pools near the shore while others stand on 

 guard. The crocodile undoubtedly causes at least as 

 many deaths as any other African killer. A game 

 warden in Tanganyika shot a large crocodile, and, 

 having its stomach cut open, made a hst of the con- 

 tents, his record of items being as follows: three 

 spinal columns, fourteen arm and leg bones, eleven 

 brass arm rings, three coiled-wire armlets, a glass-bead 

 necklace, a few stones of various sizes, a length of 

 fiber cord and a quantity of undigested porcupine 

 quills. 



With our small army marcliing ahead of the truck, 

 we proceeded to the rehef of Jones and Austin at 

 Camp Miserable. Upon arrival, we loaded the greater 

 part of the equipment on the heads of these porters 

 and the balance into our truck, and retreated from the 

 Battle of the Swamp, Jones sat grimly at the wheel 

 as his truck back-fired its way to the village, and, 

 hearing this uneartly commotion, the entire popula- 

 tion rushed out like New Yorkers running to get a 

 view of passing fire apparatus. Strange to say, how- 

 ever, all this rumpus failed to frighten several herds 

 of antelope and a flock of spur-winged geese which 

 we passed near the swamp. I shot one of the geese 

 with my 7 mm., it proving to be a huge bird of greenish 

 color, with red spots on its head. At each wing elbow 

 protruded a cruel hook similar to the spur on a bantam 

 rooster. 



The crossing of the river presented a real problem, 

 and we only averted calamity by a small margin. We 



SI 



